Tax Credits - unbelievable!!!

Hoddie_2

yeah i had problem, told them the income of me and my partner, couldnt find prevoius p60 so put income at 0. thinking they would know it, thinking they where all linked together. got a overpayment of £3,500 have to pay it back, well basically not gonna get anything this year or next till its paid back. i did try to tell them i got it all wrong, wont

Hang on a minute, you put 0 when you did have an income, and are annoyed they're asking you to pay back what you received incorrectly? Ye gods.

Regarding overpayments, an award notice is generated for every change of circumstances reported to the TCO that adjusts the award in any way. If the details on the award notice do not match what you told them, you should call them immediately. You know that any payments made between that call and the corrected award notice may be incorrect, and you take the risk of using the money or keeping it in a high-interest bank account for when they ask for it back.

The TC system has never recovered from the massive overpayments created when the new system began many years ago. Most people believe that computer problems were to blame for those overpayments, and the government is happy to let that remain the case because for the most part it keeps the millions of pounds that have been written off out of the media.

In truth, the computer system was only partly to blame, and only because Inland Revenue staff couldn't access it! Rather than let the people who were genuinely entitled to TC go without any money, they took it upon themselves to issue manual payments to anyone who could visit an Enquiry Centre and show to some degree that they were entitled.

Everyone who took money away were (or should have been) warned that should it come to light that they were not entitled, they would be required to pay the money back.

The Inland Revenue were so overwhelmed by the number of people wanting manual payments, that in the end they just gave money to almost everyone who asked for it (after taking their details obviously, but before their application was even briefly reviewed). Until the computer system was updated with all these applications and manual payments, it was nigh on impossible to keep track of who had claimed a payment or not. Some people went back for a second manual payment, sometimes on the same day! Some went for a third. A fourth. And so on. Many claimed knowing full well that they were not entitled to it.

It was only when the applications began to be processed that the number of overpayments became apparent. In the vast majority of cases the Inland Revenue were legally within their rights to request repayment. It is only after specific intervention from the government that most of these overpayments were written off.

The TC computer system isn't the best piece of software ever written, but it does what is a after all a complicated job, pretty well. It does throw up the odd error here and there but claimants have to play their part and check that their award matches their circumstances.

kelloggs36

I did check thoroughly and it WAS a computer error. The computer DOUBLED mine and my husband's previous year's income instead of taking my income off as i had ceased work. I got a letter telling me that I had been overpaid but I hadn't! They refused to listen even though they could see what had happened, and started deducting money from that year's award. It took a year to sort out and intervention from my MP. They paid me back the money they owed me and promptly did exactly the same thing the next year! I had done EVERYTHING right - checked the award, given them the correct details, but STILL it got it wrong - TWICE. Now, the computer has decided for some reason that it can't pay money into my new bank account. I called them on 7 november to tell them my new details which they took. They notified Child Benefit of the same details. Child Benefit paid the next money into my new account. I get a letter last week telling me that Tax Credits could not pay money into my account. I phoned them and they do not know why. I phone again the next day to be told that the computer has broken down and can't pay money into my bank and I will be getting manual payments from now on. Again, nothing I have done wrong - purely computer errors which cause ME inconvenience and stress.

msmicawber

Kellogg - I'm really sorry to hear all this hassle that you've had, but can I ask whether you've checked with your bank whether the problem could be from their end?

I changed my bank account a few years ago and had similar problems where TC kept sending me giros. My employers also paid me by cheque for a while, yet other companies had no problems. After much faffing about, it transpired that a new block of bank accounts had been set up with a new sort code. The information is notified to certain central banking clearing houses (sorry, but I can't remember who now - it's been a few years), with whom companies set up the direct debits and payments and download up-to-date information. The CT agency and my employers weren't getting up-to-date sort code information from the central clearing house that they use, therefore, couldn't set up a direct payment. The problem only seemed to be with payments into my account, not out, typically, though the Child Benefit was paid in with no problems. It was sorted out fairly quickly.

Sorry to ramble, but it's worth checking with your bank whether something similar may have happened in your case. If so, the bank can chase things up for you. I do feel for you as you've had enough happen to you without this as well.

kelloggs36

I checked with my bank and they can't tell me anything unless I provide them with the date the TCO attempted to pay money in, the numbers used etc, and as the TCO can't provide me with those details as they don't know them, I can't do it! The TCO confirmed it was their problem not the bank's but they have no idea when it will be sorted out, hence manual payments.

fatblokexl

skintas wrote:

yeah i had problem, told them the income of me and my partner, couldnt find prevoius p60 so put income at 0. thinking they would know it, thinking they where all linked together. got a overpayment of £3,500 have to pay it back, well basically not gonna get anything this year or next till its paid back. i did try to tell them i got it all wrong, wont listen..........

the entire tax credit system relies on all aplicants telling us everything.
yes in an ideal world all systems would be linked up but that is a long long long way off.

as for your claim... if you put down NIL income when there must have been something then it was your own fault.
the application form relies on either the actual p60 figure or an estimate. if your income was (lets say..£15000) why not say that instead of putting NIL... them complaining when you get overpaid!!

fatblokexl

cazziebo wrote:

Hee hee!

Called again to change my bank details. Very pleasant agent finished the call with "Anything else I can help you with today?"

would have loved to have said, You can't! Your system only lets you do one thing per call!!

But you're right - it's not the front line fault, it's the ludicrous processes put in by the highly paid people with secure jobs and secure pensions!

It has been the case in the past that multiple changes in one day can jam your claim in the system and delay it for weeks!!!
hope this doesnt hapen to you, but somethings are done for a reason.

cazziebo

oh no no no no

Got a letter from the tax credit people today to say thank you for my recent call, due to information given my entitlement has now stopped.

I only changed my bank details - NOTHING ELSE!!!

aaarrgghh!

Contains_Mild_Peril

Oh, smeg. When you phone them to sort it out, keep records of every call - their records seem to fluctuate between chaotic and non-existent. Once they've erroneously stopped a claim, I'm afraid I have to tell you from painful experience, it can take months and many queries before they fix it.

GlasgowLaura

Hi

I'm also having problems with TC at the minute. They stopped my payments in August last year 'due to a change in my circumstances', the only change we told them about was adding our 2nd son to the claim!

We are now in february and after months of trying we are still waiting for them to restart the payments!

bethscott1970

Hoddie wrote:

Regarding overpayments, an award notice is generated for every change of circumstances reported to the TCO that adjusts the award in any way. If the details on the award notice do not match what you told them, you should call them immediately.

Unless your like me and haven't had an award notice since the annual review. Since then I've notified them when we went on income support and when we came off it but still no sign of any paperwork at all. According to the "helpline" no award notices are being generated but they don't know why. When we went on income support the working tax credit stopped (which was correct) but the child tax credit also dropped but noone can tell me why. I've no idea if we had an overpayment last year because I've never seen the paperwork since ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

I informed them 3 weeks ago that DH has a new job and had a problem because they insisted the PAYE number for DH job doesn't exist :eek:
I guess I'll be on the phone today to check what payments we will be getting this month